Yerevan, March 13 – A controversial new music video by the popular Armenian Ska band, Rein Carnation has been making waves across Armenian social networks. The video, which includes cameos by chess grand-master Levon Aronian, footballer Henrik Mkrtchyan and boxer Arthur Abraham also features a heavyweight of another kind. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan makes an appearance at the video’s halfway mark, as Rein Carnation’s drummer, where he is instantly rushed by a crowd of overly-enthusiastic hipsters, begging for selfies.
Sincere reform or shameless pandering?
The performance, entitled “Lets Change the World” ends with a desperate plea to voters to give the governing Republicans another chance come April. Astute observers were quick to dismiss this as yet another cynical pandering attempt to lure urban millennial voters before the election. It’s painfully obvious that Republican strategists have been hard at work recently to give the party a much-needed makeover. The resultingshoehorning of popular figures into campaign appearances, clichéd election slogans and shabby social-media campaigns have been cringeworthy. Even their flashy new website, www.lovearmenia.am (clearly intended to reference the popular Instagram account: #LiveLoveArmenia) drops the trademark Hanrapetakan look for a trendier aesthetic.
President Sargsyan previously replaced the unpopular prime minister Hovik Abrahamyan in an effort to appease public indignation last September. His replacement, Karen Karapetyan presents himself as a non-partisan reformer. Karapetyan’s new government has repeatedly promised farreaching socio-economic reforms and clamp-downs on corruption since taking office.
The most conspicuous change can be seen in the party list, which has been reshuffled to reflect the party’s new youthful image. The usual big-bellied balding old men of questionable reputation have been relegated to the bottom of the list. The top places are reserved for newcomers like Defence Minister Vigen Sargsyan, Yerevan Mayor Daron Markaryan, Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan, former Education Minister, Armen Ashotyan and Speaker of the National Assembly, Eduard Sharmazanov; all of whom are under 40 years old. Curiously, Prime Minister Karapetyan, who features prominently in campaign material does not appear in this list.
Campaigning against itself?
The Republicans’ newfound emphasis on change has struck many as odd. This essentially means campaigning against their own 18-year legacy in power. Observers agree that this move is necessary, however, considering the party’s deep-seeded unpopularity amongst the electorate. Karapetyan has been travelling across the country pledging change to voters. He insists that citizens need to show patience and hard work in order to achieve “a country which we will be proud of”.
The Republican’s electoral slogan “Security & Progress” has also caused eye-rolls. The government, which had already made security the central focus of the previous election, presents a rather inconsistent legacy. President Sargsyan justified his abrupt move to join the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union back in 2013 as a necessary sacrifice for national security. His cabinet also signed a number of far-reaching agreements resulting the transfer of much of the country’s defense responsibility to Moscow. The government’s ability to protect this country took a hit when its lack of preparedness cost the country some 8 ㎢ last April, despite all the ‘sacrifices for security’. The authorities’ track record on progress also leaves much to be desired.
Critics remain unconvinced of the republican-dominated government’s ability to change given than many of the same figures remain involved behind the scenes. Karapetyan’s administration has yet to propose a roadmap with concrete steps to achieve the promised change. The reforms he has implemented have been dismissed as “too little too late”; and purely aesthetic in order to project the illusion of sincerity.
Rein Carnation, meanwhile, was forced to delete the controversial video from their facebook page (which they had previously shared with assurances that it was apolitical) following a massive wave of criticism, and calls to boycott their next concert. The video has already garnered 2000 dislikes on Youtube prompting the admins to disable comments. Gayane Melkomian, a local lawyer and activist speculates that the Republicans take the electorate for fools by enlisting the help of popular music acts. Incensed by Rein Carnation’s alleged duplicity, she comments: “Either they have no idea what they’ve gotten involved in or they think people are naive. How can they ask us not to politicise their political campaign song? Don’t they realise that it means supporting, endorsing, and promoting the Republican Party?”
The music video, which portrays young people dancing to lyrics the likes of “change yourself so you can change the world” intersected with shots of wintery Yerevan transforming into summer, has also attracted criticism for its callousness. After all, Melkomian argues, it reinforces the message pushed by the government that the peopleare to blame for Armenia’s problems and not them. This ambiguous stance was demonstrated in another Republican Party election ad depicting a middle-class family in a car reaching a fork in the road, ultimately deciding on “the difficult road that leads us forward”.
This year’s election will see the participation of first-time voters who have lived their entire lives under a Republican-dominated government. It remains to be seen whether the Karapetyan administration’s commitment to change will be taken seriously, or join Hillary Clinton’s infamous Student Loan emojis in the “Hall of condescending pandering attempts by out-of-touch politicians”. Raffi Elliott
